Clean eating challenge (and The Butt Book!)

Some people have asked me what this is all about, so here it is:

I really love working out. I go to Zumba at least 5 times a week, and lift weights at least 4 days a week. I also have the best lifting partner (my husband! Date night at the gym anyone? haha) who knows a lot about weight training and eating right, but between health issues or just not maintaining a great diet, I still have about 10-15 lbs to lose to be totally happy and healthy.
So in a renewed effort to ditch those pounds, I have decided to start a clean eating challenge. (Disclaimer: I have to tailor it a tiny bit to meet my kidney/allergy needs, but overall I can do it as is!)
I'll be honest, I got the idea from my current library book, The Butt Book: How to Build a Non-Cellulite & Fat-Free Butt in 9 weeks! Laugh at the title, I did ;) But it has some great exercises for the glutes, and the diet info to boot.

Basically, it's a diet plan of unprocessed, whole foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and void of artificial ingredients, preservatives, "chemically charged foods," sugars, saturated fat, and trans fat.
To make it easy, you essentially only shop on the outskirts of the grocery store (that's almost always where the fruits/veggies, dairy and meats are, the processed junk is inside), minus the bakery section ;) 

"Foods allowed include a variety of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, nonfat dairy, and healthy fats -- preferably organic and eaten in proper portions every few hours.

The Eat-Clean Diet recommends avoiding all saturated fat, trans fats, overprocessed, refined foods -- especially white flour, sugar, sugar-loaded colas, juices, and alcohol.

The plan's guiding principles:

• Each meal should be between 200-300 calories.
• Eat a complex carbohydrate with protein (20-21 grams) at every meal.
• Drink at least 8 cups of water daily.
• Never miss a meal, especially breakfast.
• Consume adequate healthy fats each day."

Some of the clean diet lists say to avoid any type of sweetener all together, but I find that impossible with a few things (oats, bleh!). From what I've read (I've tried to research quite a bit about this way of eating so I can learn what's good, true or just unhealthy), some sweetener options are honey, pure maple syrup, and sucanat, making sure to account for those calories if you're keeping track.
Ideally, you eat every 2-3 hours, never longer than 3. The caloric limit depends on your body of course, so you plan according to that, typically 6 meals a day, for me.

A lot of people have asked for recipes, so I'll post those as I go along too (okay, I'm not promising, but hopefully I'll remember!).

Some of the things on my food list today:
Oats with berries, cottage cheese on the side
Kirkland nonfat Greek yogurt
Granny smith apples
Veggie Frittata: Turn your oven on to broil. Heat 1 T. olive oil in skillet (olive oil is recommended, but you could use cooking spray for zero calories and cheat, it's not "clean"). Throw in your veggies, I used broccoli and peppers. Cook until tender. Add 3 beaten eggs (most of the diets recommend just whites, but for my kidneys I need the yolks as well and less whites), salt/pepper, and nonfat cheese if you want, and mix those up. Let it sit for about 4 minutes until it's set on the bottom and the top is just starting to set slightly. Throw the whole pan in the oven on Broil for about 3-4 minutes until golden, and you're ready to eat! So easy, delicious, and super filling - I was still full when it was time for my next meal! It's pretty much adaptable to whatever you like, just keep in mind the calories of what you're putting in!

This is me challenge: marriage

*How did you meet your spouse?  Was it love at first sight or did it take some time?
When I was 17 I was visiting my sister, Sheryl, in Oregon. Nate was serving his mission and was in my sister's ward. Her family was very close with all the missionaries, and her husband Ben was the ward mission leader. I saw Nate at church and thought he was so cute! After I went home we wrote a few times but that was about it... Until later!

*How long did you date before you got engaged?  How long was your engagement?
We both ended up going to Sheryl's for Thanksgiving, 2 years later, (without knowing the other would be there!) and went on our first date that week! We got engaged on Christmas Eve, so only about a month of dating! We had a very short engagement as well, only 2 months!

*How did you get engaged?  (The story)
The first time Nate asked me he hadn't been intending to, we were exchanging Christmas presents and he just decided he couldn't live without me ;)  lol
Later on he had made an awesome treasure hunt with roses, and at the last clue I turned around to find him on one knee with the ring. So cute!

*Who did most of the wedding plans?  Who helped?
My mom and dad, and Sister Leeann Powell, a lady in our ward who had done my sister's wedding as well.

*Who were your bridesmaids/best men? 
Katie Manning and Codilyn Kendall were my bridesmaids, and Nate's best men were his older brother Gerrit and my brother-in-law Ben Mildenhall.

*Describe the details of your wedding:  the colors, the cake, the decorations, etc.
Colors: Dark green and ivory
The cake: It was white with raspberry filling, with roses trailing all over. Of course we had to have something silly amidst all the serious and pretty, so we decided to put a cow and pig cake topper that we'd found at the cake shop, that were in wedding clothes! The bakery made a cute little fence with hay and mud around them! Probably one of my favorite parts of the wedding :)

*Where did you go on your honeymoon?
We couldn't take much time off work so we decided not to go far. We stayed in a cute little B&B called Hines Mansion for the first night, then we went to SLC and stayed up there for a few nights and just played around the city.

This is me: Work

Work:

*What jobs have you had? 

• My very first job when I was 16 was at The Wirthlin Group in Orem (one of the many names it's had!). I did telephone surveys. I was pretty good at getting people to answer and keep them long enough to get the survey done!
• After that I worked at Modus Media in Lindon (again, one of the many names). I worked in the call center for a number of different technology companies (Compaq tech support, customer service/returns, etc.)
• Then when I was 19 Nate and I both started at Circuit City together, while we were engaged. He worked in the Electronics department. I worked in the Computer department. We transferred to Portland CC and I worked in computers as well as Customer Service Manager training. I worked at Circuit right up until I had Thor.
• Then when Thor was about 6 months I went back to Modus Media (I was done with retail!) until about a year after I had Erik.
• Now I work for myself, I own and manage a residential cleaning company called All Purpose Cleaners.

*What did you like/dislike about each job?
I liked working with people and being able to solve problems for them.

*What did you learn at each job?
I learned how to deal with angry, upset people, and how to make them feel happy, even if the situation still wasn't how they would have liked.

*Have you used any of that knowledge in later years?
I still do this in my job now and then, if someone isn't happy with a cleaning or if they've had a bad experience in the past with another company. Plus, I think everyone uses this skill when they have a family, almost every day!

*How did you get along with your co-workers?
My favorite co-workers were at Circuit City. They were a lot of fun and great people. Plus, I got to work with my husband in one department over ;)

*Which was your favorite job?
I really don't think there was a favorite, I learned so much at each job and I don't regret my time spent at any of them.
My "job" now is probably my favorite because it just seems to be another part of my life, it doesn't always feel like a job. I hire people (and unfortunately fire people), I am the secretary, the accountant (Nate definitely helps me with that, and he's taught me a lot), the customer service agent, the debt collector, I do it all. Sometimes I feel like a failure, but when things are running smoothly it does give a great sense of accomplishment!

*How many years until you retire?
I guess I could retire any time I want to, but in the end we'd like to keep our business running successfully so that it can just run itself or our kids can take over.

*Do you have any big plans for your retirement?
I would love to travel with Nate, and go on a mission together.

This is me: College Years

College years:

*Did you attend college or a trade school of some sort?
After high school I decided to just take institute classes at the Orem Institute of Religion. I was also in the Latter-day Celebration show choir with Brother Brenchley. I made some amazing friends there.
I finally decided to get back into school, and I had my heart set on going to cosmetology school, so I signed up at Von Curtis (now Paul Mitchell academy or something?). Shortly after I started and had learned all the basics, Nate and I decided to move to Portland. I was planning on transferring to a school there but instead I found out I was pregnant and VERY sick.

*What did you think was the hardest thing about your chosen profession at that time?  Did it turn out that way?
I didn't think it was hard, but it wasn't exactly what I had thought it would be when I dreamed of doing it all my childhood.

*What dumb things did you do during those years?
I wouldn't change anything I did, but I might have waited a little longer to get married so I could grow up first ;)

*What good things did you do?
Being in Latter-day Celebration was such a huge part of that time in my life. We were able to perform all over and travel to Texas for our tour. There were so many wonderful experiences during that time.

*Did you live on your own?  How well prepared were you for that?
I didn't live on my own until we got married, but I think we made it work. We had no family close by so we had to rely on each other. We worked hard (we worked at the same place so we had plenty of time together!) and had lots of fun on our days off.

*What life lessons did you learn?
My testimony was definitely strengthened during those years in Latter-day Celebration. I learned a lot from cosmetology school that has been useful in helping my own family/friends with hair and makeup, etc. And I have some wonderful memories of my mom even though she wasn't close by. She had an 800 number at her work that I could call her on, so we could chat often and keep up on everything that was going on.

This is Me: Teenage Years

Growing up, teenage years:

*What activities did you participate in?  (Sports, dancing, music, arts, etc.)  Explain what you did with each activity. 
I tried dancing, my sisters and my mom were all dancers, but I just didn't have the grace that they did ;) so it didn't ever last long.
I was always in choirs, from BYU Children's Choir to always being in choir in school.
I took piano lessons (8 years and I obviously didn't practice as much as I should have or I'd be a lot better!)
I loved art and often drew on my own when I wasn't in an art class in school. I loved writing poetry as well.
*EDIT* My brother Brian reminded me how much I actually liked sports as a teenager. I was never amazing at them, and didn't play on teams (due to my completely non-competitive nature ha), but I did love to play basketball, tennis, even attempted some street hockey, but basketball was my favorite. It makes me happy to see Thor playing Junior Jazz for his 4th or 5th year in a row now :)

*How did you learn how to drive?  What kind of car did you have?
My parents took me driving, I'm sure that was scary. I drove either our Blue Buick, which had the horn of a full speed train, or our tan Station Wagon. The latter was the favorite of my friends, mostly because (my dad won't like this part lol) it took bumps and dips so awesomely. My friends would take turns sitting in the back and fly every time we hit one! And it fit 3 friends in the front at once, good memories with that car!

*Who were your friends? 
In high school I had a lot of different friends. Many the same as in the last post, as well as Codilyn Kendell and Katie Manning. People called us the Three Muskateers, because we were ALWAYS together (but oh so much drama of course! hahaha)

*Did you have a girl/boy friend?  Talk about him/her (if your spouse is okay with it!).
I was SO shy in high school, I never had boyfriends until afterwards, when I learned to break out of my shell a little more.

*What did you like/dislike about school?
I'll be honest, I hated most everything about high school. I think part of that was because of my shyness, but I really didn't like school in general. My favorite classes depended on the year, but I did like English, and of course choir and art, and really loved my language classes (German and Spanish).

*What was your first paid job? 
I worked at Wirthlin Worldwide, doing phone surveys. I was pretty good at it, and didn't hate it :)

*What were your chores at home?
About the same as the last post, at this point I was usually the only kid at home so I did whatever I could around the house, between work and school. When I wasn't working I do remember getting an allowance for helping around the house, which I was very grateful for!

This is Me: Early Years

Growing up, early years: 

*Where did you grow up?  Describe it.
Provo, first across the street from what used to be Maeser Elementary. We lovingly call it "the ghetto". We all remember hearing a few shootings going on, or the time a guy escaped from jail and holed up in an apartment building not far from us, and the police came door-to-door telling people to stay in their homes. Lots of amazing people around us though, some of those I am still friends with today.
When I was 10 we moved to Grandview Hill, where I have a lot more memories than at the other house.

*What was your earliest memory?
I only have a few memories when I was young. I remember our dogs Cinnamon and Nutmeg, Cinnamon was a big Chow, I remember she once chased me through the house and into the bathtub.

*What games did you play as a child?
There were a few games our family loved to play. Probe and Bazaar are the most memorable. I remember loving to jump rope too.

*Where did you go to school?
I went to Maeser Elementary until the end of 4th grade, and then we moved and I went to Grandview Elementary.

*Who were your friends?
When I was younger, Julia Patch, Lisa Attkinson, Jenny Evens, and Brittany Tueller were some of my good friend.
Once I moved I made new friends pretty quickly with Jessica Child, Angela Harward, Sarah Hansen, Jenne Andersen, Cammie Davis (the best part of this is we all still get together and have dinner and reminisce about those silly times.

*Who were your favorite teachers and why?
Mr Rowley was definitely my favorite teacher. The year he taught us in 6th grade was his first year teaching. He now teaches at the elementary that my kids go to, and is just as awesome! He has always kept up with that 6th grade class, remembered all of our birthdays, come to everything important, I mean how awesome is that. He came to my wedding! All around awesome guy.

*What were your chores?
With such a big family, as far as I remember, we just rotated who did what, but all the regular house keeping chores. I even mowed the lawn fairly often when we were in the house on Grandview (since then I was often the only kid at home). We had a sweet electric mower that I had to plug in and make sure not to run over haha!

This is Me Challenge

I've decided to do the "This is Me Challenge".
The first section is:

 Your birth and family:  
*What is your full name and how did you get that name?  Do you have any nicknames?

Jeanette Marlene (Smith) Sorensen. My family calls me either Nettie or Birdette (I think that came from my brothers, but I have no idea how, feel free to chime in if you have some insight into this!). In high school some of my friends called me Eddie, Jeanette was just toooo girly at the time, but now it fits me a little better :)

*What are your parent's full names and birth dates and places?

My Dad is Kim LeRoy Smith, 12/22/39 and he was born in Idaho I believe (correct me if I'm wrong on any of these!)

My Mom is Barbara Charlene (Funk) Smith, she went by Charlene, her mother was Barbara. She was born in Rosemead, CA. I think, on 6/3/39.

*What is the date of your birth?  Where were you born?

My birthday is 6/26/79. I was born in Provo at UVRMC. I was 10 lbs 6 oz (huuuuge!) and 21 in. at 5somethingAM.

*What are your sibling's full names and birth dates? 

My mom had 8 kids, with TWO sets of twins!

Oh gosh, this one is tricky, I'm getting old and forgetting the days! Let's see how I do... please don't hate me if I get any wrong!!! :)

Julie Ranae Pulsipher 7/31

Sheryl Lynn Mildenhall Mills 7/31

Brian Jay Smith 2/19

Gary LeRoy Smith 8/26

Denise Diane Pearce 11/18

Lori Jeanine Harris 3/17

Mark Damon Smith 3/17

*How was your relationship with your siblings and parents?.

I was the youngest of 8, with my nearest siblings being 4 years older than me, so I was a little bit spoiled and probably a brat (I'm sure if you ask my siblings, they'd say a LOT spoiled, and a huge brat lol). Most of my older siblings were out of the house by the time I remember much, but I remember when they came to visit I would cry at nights when they had left (I know, so sad huh). I always missed them so much!

*What are some lessons you learned from you parents?

I think the most important lessons both of my parents taught me, by great example, were to honor the priesthood, and to pray. Anytime I needed comfort or was sick, my dad would always be willing to give me a blessing, even in the middle of the night (which was often), even for small things and my mom would always tell me to say a prayer when I needed help, etc. I've always remembered that and am extremely grateful for it.

*How did you help in your home?

I think the earliest thing I remember as a little kid was helping with laundry. By the time I was a teenager I was mostly the only child at home, so I helped with a lot of the chores. I remember times I tried to cut corners to get done faster, but my mom would always catch me! I think that's why I'm so ocd about cleaning now as a grown up